“Now this Spirit hath two functions, external and internal; the external is revealed in the material generation just alluded to, the internal abides in the heart of man. Whosoever purifies his heart from worldly impressions and desires, reveals this internal function of the Spirit within him, and illumines and revivifies his soul.
“Thus the Spirit at once comprehends the Universe and dwells in the heart of man.
VII. Of the Upward Progress or Ascent of Man.
“When Man has become assured of the truth of Revelation, he has reached the stage of Belief, and has the name of Múmin, ‘Believer.’ When he further acts in obedience to the will of God, and apportions the night and day for earnest prayer, he has reached the stage of worship, and is called an ʾA′bid, or ‘Worshipper.’ When he has expelled the love of this world from his heart, and occupies himself with a contemplation of the mighty Whole, he reaches the next stage, and becomes a Záhid, or ‘Recluse.’ When in addition to all this he knows God, and subsequently learns the mysteries of nature, he reaches the stage of Acquaintance, and is called ʾA′rif, ‘One who knows.’ The next stage is that in which he attains to the love of God, and is called a Welí, or ‘Saint.’ When he is moreover gifted with inspiration and the power of working miracles, he becomes a Nebí, ‘Prophet’; and when entrusted next with the delivery of God’s own message, he is called an ‘Apostle,’ Rusúl. When he is appointed to abrogate a previous dispensation and preach a new one, he is called Ulu ʾlʾAzm, ‘One who has a mission.’ When this mission is final, he has arrived at the stage called Khatm, or ‘the Seal.’ This is the Upward Progress of Man. The first stage is the ‘Believer,’ the last the ‘Seal.’
“After separation from the body, the soul of Man returns to that Heaven which corresponds to the stage which he has attained; thus the Believer at last dwells in the first or lowest Heaven, and the Seal in the Heaven of Heavens; for it will be noticed that the stages of upward progress correspond to the number of degrees in the Heavenly Spheres, namely, seven inferior and two superior.
“The metaphysicians say that these stages and degrees do not in reality exist, but that the Heavenly Intelligence which corresponds to the degree of intelligence attained by Man, attracts and absorbs his soul into itself after separation from the body. Thus every one who has attained intelligence corresponding to that of the highest sphere, his soul returns thereto; and he who has attained intelligence corresponding to the lowest sphere, his soul in like manner returns to that; those who have not attained intelligence corresponding to any of these will be placed in Hell, which is situate below the lowest sphere.
“As each of the Heavenly Spheres is furnished with knowledge and purity in proportion to its position, the rank of Man’s soul in the future state will, according to this last account, be in proportion to his degree of knowledge and purity of life while upon the earth.
“The Unitarians say that man’s Upward Progress has no end, for if he strive for a thousand years, each day will teach him something that he knew not before, inasmuch as the knowledge of God has no limit. So Mohammed says, ‘He who progresses daily is yet of feeble mind.’
“The religious account says that the soul of every man returns to an individual place after separation from the body. This the metaphysicians deny; for how, say they, can the soul of a man return to a certain place when it has not originally come from a certain place? The soul of man is the Primal Spirit, and if a thousand persons live, it is the same spirit that animates them all; and in like manner if a thousand die, the same spirit returns to itself, and is not lessened or diminished. If a myriad persons build houses and make windows therein, the same sun illumines them all, and though every one of them should be destroyed, the sun would not be lessened or diminished. The sun is the lord of the sensible world, and the exponent of the attributes of the Primal Spirit. The Primal Spirit is the lord of the invisible world and the exponent of the Nature of God.
“When the heart of man has been revivified and illumined by the Primal Spirit, he has arrived at Intelligence; for Intelligence is a light in the heart, distinguishing between truth and vanity. Until he has been so revivified and illumined, it is impossible for him to attain to intelligence at all. But having attained to intelligence, then, and not till then, is the time for the attainment of knowledge, for becoming Wise. Intelligence is a Primal Element, and knowledge the attribute thereof. When from knowledge he has successively proceeded to the attainment of the Divine Light, and acquaintance with the mysteries of nature, his last step will be Perfection, with which his Upward Progress concludes.